Manchester Alderman Ryan French announced on Monday afternoon that he has tested positive for COVID-19. French said, “I have taken this pandemic seriously by wearing a mask out in public and avoiding crowds as much as possible. However, this virus is very contagious and to some very dangerous.” He added, “My symptoms have been moderate and hopefully, I have weathered the worst of it. I will continue to quarantine at home and monitor my status as well as my families.”
French says he understands that by wearing a mask, while I did still contract the virus, I have kept others around me safe. This has proven out by contact tracing, as many that I have been in contact with have not tested positive for the virus.
Manchester Alderman French said that when he was told that his test was positive it felt a kick to the gut. He said he immediately started thinking about his family members, my wife being 8 months pregnant, and particularly my 90-year-old grandfather. You start thinking about everyone that you have seen, everyone that you have talked to, and you feel a great deal of responsibility for getting in touch with all of them.
French finished by saying that COVID-19 doesn’t care if you are a democrat or a republican. It doesn’t care if you are healthy or have health issues. There is no way to completely eliminate the risk that we all are living with today, but we can mitigate the spread by taking simple, practical, and reasonable steps, like wearing a mask when we are around others.
The late mayor of Manchester, Lonnie Norman died from complications due to COVID-19 in October.
Currently there are 264 cases in Coffee County and 30 deaths.
